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Hoops Rumors Originals: 7/27/19 – 8/3/19

August 3rd, 2019 at 3:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our original segments and features from the past seven days:

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Five Key Stories: 7/27/19 – 8/3/19

August 3rd, 2019 at 1:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

If you missed any of this past week’s biggest headlines from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Here are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:

Warriors forward Draymond Green agreed to a four-year, $100MM extension. The free agent class next summer took another hit as Green decided to stay with the team that drafted him. Green potentially could have signed for much more next summer with either Golden State or another team. However, the defensive specialist elected for long-term security before hitting the market. His decision may have been influenced by seeing Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant suffer serious injuries just before hitting free agency.

The Blazers signed shooting guard C.J. McCollum to a three-year, $100MM extension. McCollum still has two years left on his current deal but both sides were eager to make a longer commitment. McCollum, who has averaged at least 20.8 PPG in each of the last four seasons, won’t be eligible for unrestricted free agency until 2024. Portland locked up McCollum’s backcourt partner Damian Lillard with a four-year, super-max extension earlier this summer.

Pelicans top executive David Griffin said he was miserable running the Cavaliers’ front office when LeBron James was there. Griffin was quoted in the Sports Illustrated article as saying that he and others were unhappy there because  “LeBron is getting all the credit and none of the blame. And that’s not fun for people.” He also questioned James’ desire after Cleveland won the championship. Griffin later clarified his comments on ESPN’s The Jump, saying he was miserable in his former job because of the pressure to build a title team, not because of a rift with James. He also said James proved he didn’t lose his desire by reaching the Finals again.

Forward Patrick Patterson was bought out by the Thunder and plans to sign with the Clippers. Patterson’s playing time and production diminished last season but he’ll rejoin Paul George on a serious title contender. Los Angeles is limited to offering the veteran’s minimum, which is roughly $2.3MM for a player with Patterson’s level of experience. He had one year and approximately $5.7MM left on his deal with OKC.

Carmelo Anthony is hoping another NBA team will give him a chance to extend his career. Following a brief and unhappy experience with the Rockets last season, Anthony finds himself in limbo. The 35-year-old forward says he’s ready and willing to play a reduced role and is “in the gym every single day” as he awaits another opportunity. He also denied that he was looking for a farewell tour.

Here are 10 more noteworthy headlines from the past week:

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Community Shootaround: East’s Most Underrated Team

August 2nd, 2019 at 7:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The current odds posted by VegasInsider.com shows a wide gap among Eastern Conference teams.

The Bucks and Sixers are virtual co-favorites to reach the Finals next season, with Milwaukee posted at 5-4 odds and the Sixers at 3-2. The Celtics are a clear-cut third choice at 15-2.

Those are the only teams listed at single-digit odds. Even though Kevin Durant is expected to sit out next season, the Nets are co-fourth choices with the Pacers at 12-1. Indiana could be dangerous if Victor Oladipo can come back strong from a serious leg injury.

The Raptors are 25-1 and the Heat, with the addition of Jimmy Butler, are rated at 40-1. The Magic, who made the playoffs last season and re-signed their top free agents, and Bulls are posted at 80-1.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is that the Pistons, who also reached the postseason and didn’t lose any key players, are listed at 120-1 along with the youthful Hawks. The remaining Eastern Conference teams — the Knicks, Cavaliers, Wizards and Hornets, are all posted at 400-1.

It would certainly be a surprise if any club other than Milwaukee, Philadelphia or Boston gets out of the Eastern Conference but all those teams are vulnerable to a certain degree.

That brings us to our question of the day: Which Eastern Conference team is the most underrated heading into next season?

Please take to the comments section below to voice your opinion. We look forward to your input.

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2019/20 Non-Guaranteed Contracts By NBA Team

August 2nd, 2019 at 11:13am CST by Luke Adams

As the NBA regular season approaches and teams reduce their rosters from the 20-player offseason limit to the 15-man regular season max, the best way to determine which players will survive preseason cuts is to consider their contracts. Players with guaranteed salaries for 2019/20 are far more likely to earn spots on 15-man rosters than players whose contracts aren’t fully guaranteed.

Keeping that in mind, we’re using the space below to keep tabs on the players on each NBA team who don’t have fully guaranteed contracts, using information from Basketball Insiders, as well as our own data. The players listed here have non-guaranteed salaries, partially guaranteed salaries, or Exhibit 9 or Exhibit 10 contracts, which essentially function like non-guaranteed deals.

Unless otherwise noted, these players are on minimum salary contracts. Some players on this list have partial guarantees, which we’ve also mentioned below.

Not all of these players will be waived before the regular season begins, so we’ll maintain this list for the next several months, up until January 10, 2020. That’s the day that all players still under contract will have their salaries fully guaranteed for the rest of the 2019/20 season.

Only players who have formally signed contracts are listed below, so if a player has reportedly reached an agreement with a team on a non-guaranteed deal, we’ll add him to our list when that deal becomes official. You can use our roster counts page to find those players whose deals have been reported but not finalized.

Without further ado, here’s the full list of players without fully guaranteed salaries for 2019/20, broken down by team:

Updated 1-10-20 (4:05pm CT)

Atlanta Hawks

  • None

Boston Celtics

  • None

Brooklyn Nets

  • None

Charlotte Hornets

  • None

Chicago Bulls

  • None

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • None

Read more

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2019/20 NBA Roster Counts

August 2nd, 2019 at 8:49am CST by Luke Adams

NBA rosters are limited to 15 players during the regular season, but teams are allowed to carry up to 20 players during the offseason. Expanded offseason rosters allow clubs to bring in players on contracts that aren’t fully guaranteed, giving those players a chance to earn a regular season roster spot or getting a closer look at them before sending them to their G League affiliate.

In addition to the usual 15-man rosters, NBA teams are permitted to carry two players on two-way contracts. Two-way deals, which we describe in detail in our glossary, essentially give clubs the NBA rights to two extra players, though they’ll spend the majority of the season in the G League rather than with the NBA team. While two-way players don’t count toward the regular season roster limit, they do count toward the 20-man offseason limit.

With deals for undrafted free agents occasionally reported and then not finalized for days, weeks, or even months, a team’s roster count can be tricky to track during the offseason, but we’ve done our best in the space below to present a picture of where each team’s roster stands. Here are the various categories you’ll find in our list:

  • Official: These players are officially under contract with a given team. They have standard contracts that run at least through the end of the 2019/20 season.
  • 10-day: These are players who are currently on 10-day contracts. Unless otherwise noted, these deals are official. The last day of the player’s 10-day contract is noted in parentheses.
  • Reported: These are players whose contract agreements have been reported but haven’t been made official. We’re expecting them to be finalized at some point, though it’s possible that some will fall through or were reported erroneously.
  • Two-way: These are players signed to two-way contracts. Unless otherwise noted, these deals – which can’t be signed after January 15 – are official. You can find a specific team’s two-way players right here.
  • Total: A team’s total roster count, taking into account all of the above.

Here are 2019/20’s NBA roster counts, which we’ll continue to update through the offseason and into the regular season. This list can be found anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” sidebar on our desktop site, or on the “Features” page in the menu of our mobile site.

Updated 7-19-20 (9:04pm CT)

Atlanta Hawks

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 1
  • Total: 16

Boston Celtics

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 2
  • Total: 17

Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets

  • Official: 13
  • Two-way: 2
  • Total: 15

Chicago Bulls

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 2
  • Total: 17

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • Official: 15
  • Two-way: 1
  • Total: 16

Read more

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2019 NBA 2K League Finals Preview: 76ers GC Vs. T-Wolves Gaming

August 1st, 2019 at 6:22pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The NBA 2K League Finals between the 76ers GC and T-Wolves Gaming will take place this Saturday. You can catch it live on the league’s Twitch channel or YouTube channel, starting at 3:00 pm ET.

The two teams battled during The Tipoff tournament back in April with Philadelphia beating Minnesota by a score of 68-57 on their way to winning the event. On Saturday, the two teams will again meet in the NBA 2K League Finals, which will be a best-of-five series for the first time (last year’s championship series was a best-of-three).

The schedule is as follows:

  • 3:00 pm: Game 1, T-Wolves at 76ers GC.
  • 4:15 pm: Game 2,  76ers GC at T-Wolves.
  • 5:30 pm: Game 3, T-Wolves at 76ers GC.
  • 6:45 pm: Game 4, 76ers GC at T-Wolves.*
  • 8:00 pm: Game 5, T-Wolves at 76ers GC.*

*Game 4 and 5 if necessary. All times listed are ET.

The league’s second season began 18 weeks ago with the Knicks kicking off the year as the defending champs. New York will hold onto that title for a few more days before a new champion is crowned.

The 76ers GC do not have a traditional center, employing a guard-heavy lineup instead. T-Wolves Gaming fields a traditional lineup with a power forward off the bench.  Here’s more on each team ahead of the NBA 2K League Finals:

76ers GC

  • Record: 11-5 (3rd overall)
  • Point differential: +7.7 (2nd overall)
  • Playoff record: 4-0
  • Playoff point differential: +60

Philadelphia won The Tipoff (the first tournament of the 2019 season) and finished second in The Turn (the second tournament). The team hasn’t lost more than two games in a row all season.

76ers GC won four straight games entering the playoffs and didn’t take a single loss during their first two series against Pacers Gaming and Celtics Crossover Gaming. They closed out their semifinals series over Boston with a 37-point victory. Here’s more about the team:

  • 76ers GC is led by 2019 NBA 2K League Coach of the Year Jeff Terrell.
  • Point guard Radiant earned All-NBA 2K League Second-Team honors and was an MVP candidate.
  • Rookie power forward Breadwinner earned All-NBA 2K League Defensive Team honors and was named to the league’s All-NBA Rookie Team.

T-Wolves Gaming

  • Record: 10-6 (4th overall)
  • Point differential: +5.8 (5th overall)
  • Playoff record: 4-0
  • Playoff point differential: +60

After a one-point loss to Cavs Legion GC on May 31, T-Wolves Gaming held a 3-6 record. Without a tournament win (Minnesota finished 3-3 in tournament play), the squad’s playoff hopes were dwindling. However, the team caught fire over the last six weeks of the regular season, winning its final seven contests by nearly 18 points per game.

T-Wolves Gaming took down Kings Guard Gaming 2-0 in the first round to set up a matchup with the Warriors Gaming Squad. WGS had won two of the three tournaments this season, including The Turn, when they knocked out 76ers GC in the finals. Minnesota dusted Golden State in the semifinals, winning the pair of playoff games by margins of 18 and 22, respectively. Here’s more about the team:

  • T-Wolves Gaming is led by coach Shawn Vilvens, who also serves as the team’s GM.
  • Center FEAST won the league’s Sportsmanship award.

For more details on the NBA 2K League, check out our 2019 season primer, which includes a full breakdown of which teams are involved, details on the league’s tournaments, and a look into how players make money while competing in the league.

Which side do you think will win the NBA 2K League Finals? And what are your thoughts on the NBA 2K League in general? Take to the comment section below to share your thoughts.

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Community Shootaround: Chris Paul

July 31st, 2019 at 7:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Insurance spokesman Chris Paul finds himself stranded in Oklahoma City at the moment and State Farm can’t help him.

Considered for many seasons as the world’s premier point guard, Paul is stuck on the rebuilding Thunder until GM Sam Presti can find a way to deal his monstrous contract. The Thunder granted Russell Westbrook his wish to be traded in the wake of Paul George‘s trade demand. Presti send the team’s longtime floor leader to the Rockets for Paul, a couple of first-round picks and the right to swap two others.

Paul has played most of his career with contenders that have fallen short in the playoffs. He’s now in an awkward spot with the Thunder, who are looking to build around young point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the top player acquired from the Clippers in the George deal. Dennis Schroder, the team’s sixth man, is also a natural point guard.

The remainder of the roster won’t strike fear into the hearts of opponents. The Thunder will be fortunate to win 30 games next season.

Moving Paul to another team won’t be easy. He’s due $38.5MM next season, $41.4MM in 2020/21 and $44.2MM in 2021/22 if he exercises his player option.

Perhaps a younger Chris Paul was worth all that money but age (34) and injuries have led to a decline. He averaged 15.6 PPG on 41.9% shooting, both career lows, last season.

Paul will probably begin the season with the Thunder and have to wait at least until mid-December, when the latest crop of free agents become trade eligible, to get rescued. A point guard injury could motivate a contender to bring in Paul to save their season.

The Heat have been mentioned as the most likely trade partner but they’d want a couple of first-rounders tossed in to ease the burden of Paul’s salary-cap swallowing contract. The Pistons have also been considered a possible suitor, since they could pair up Paul with former pick-and-roll partner Blake Griffin. However, they’re not keen on Paul’s contract, either, especially with Andre Drummond potentially headed to free agency next summer.

That brings us to our question of the day: Do you think Chris Paul will be on Oklahoma City’s roster all of next season? If not, which team will trade for him?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

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2019 NBA Head Coaching Carousel Recap

July 31st, 2019 at 1:10pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2017/18 NBA league year was one of the most active in recent memory for head coaching changes. Nine teams – nearly one-third of the league’s 30 franchises – named new head coaches between the start of the ’17/18 season and the 2018 draft.

The ’18/19 league year was only slightly quieter in terms of head coaching changes. Fred Hoiberg (Bulls), Tyronn Lue (Cavaliers), and Tom Thibodeau (Timberwolves) were fired during the season, and several more coaches got the axe at season’s end.

Jim Boylen, Hoiberg’s replacement in Chicago, was named the Bulls’ new permanent head coach during the season and was extended at season’s end, but Cleveland and Minnesota conducted head coaching searches this spring. As such, the Cavs and Wolves are included in our round-up below of the offseason’s head coaching shake-up, but the Bulls aren’t.

Here’s a recap of which teams have named new permanent head coaches since the end of the 2018/19 season:

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • Hired: John Beilein (story)
  • Replaced: Larry Drew (story)
  • Contract details: Five-year deal (link)
  • Also reportedly interviewed: Juwan Howard, Jamahl Mosley, J.B. Bickerstaff, Alex Jensen, Ime Udoka, Ettore Messina, Steve Hetzel, Wes Unseld Jr., Jordi Fernandez, David Vanterpool

After mutually agreeing to part ways with Drew, the Cavaliers conducted a long, thorough coaching search that focused primarily on young, up-and-coming assistants. So it came as a surprise when they made a long-term commitment to Beilein, a 66-year-old college head coach.

Still, Beilein has a strong track record developing young players at the University of Michigan. He’ll bring that pedigree to Cleveland, where he’ll be joined by other new hires like associate head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and assistant Lindsay Gottlieb.

Los Angeles Lakers

  • Hired: Frank Vogel (story)
  • Replaced: Luke Walton (story)
  • Contract details: Three-year deal (link)
  • Also reportedly interviewed: Monty Williams, Tyronn Lue, Jason Kidd, Juwan Howard, J.B. Bickerstaff

After months of rumors that Walton was on the hot seat, it seemed as if the Lakers would have a top candidate or two in mind to pursue at season’s end, when Walton’s ouster became official. Williams and Lue appeared to be those top targets, but Williams accepted an offer from Phoenix and Lue and the Lakers couldn’t agree to terms.

The Lakers moved onto Plan B (or was it Plan C?), unexpectedly turning to Vogel on a fairly short-term deal. The former Pacers coach will be joined by other former head coaches on the Lakers’ sidelines, as Kidd and Lionel Hollins are reportedly coming aboard as assistants.

Memphis Grizzlies

  • Hired: Taylor Jenkins (story)
  • Replaced: J.B. Bickerstaff (story)
  • Contract details: Not known
  • Also reportedly interviewed: Alex Jensen, Jarron Collins, Igor Kokoskov, Nate Tibbetts, Adrian Griffin, Sarunas Jasikevicius

The longest-lasting head coaching search of the offseason also resulted in the most out-of-left-field hire. Jenkins, a longtime Mike Budenholzer lieutenant in Atlanta and Milwaukee, hadn’t received much head coaching buzz in recent years, but the Grizzlies liked what they saw in multiple meetings with him.

The hiring of Jenkins was the first major decision made by the new Memphis management group led by team president Jason Wexler and executive VP of basketball operations Zach Kleiman.

Minnesota Timberwolves

  • Hired: Ryan Saunders (story)
  • Replaced: Tom Thibodeau (in-season change)
  • Contract details: Not known
  • Also reportedly interviewed: Juwan Howard, David Vanterpool, Chris Finch, Darvin Ham

Saunders stepped in as the Timberwolves’ interim head coach in January when Thibodeau was let go, and he immediately emerged as a player-friendly coach who earned the trust of Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and others.

With a new president of basketball operations arriving in the spring, it seemed as if the Wolves might go in another direction, and Gersson Rosas did briefly consider outside candidates. However, Rosas ultimately opted for continuity, making the 33-year-old the NBA’s youngest current head coach.

Phoenix Suns

  • Hired: Monty Williams (story)
  • Replaced: Igor Kokoskov (story)
  • Contract details: Five-year deal (link)
  • Also reportedly interviewed: David Vanterpool, Nate Tibbetts

Williams was one of the most popular head coaching candidates on the market this offseason, as the Sixers assistant received consideration from the Lakers and Kings in addition to the Suns. In Phoenix, he’ll assume control of a young roster headed by Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker.

It will be Williams’ second opportunity to serve as an NBA head coach. He previously held that position in New Orleans from 2010-15 for the Hornets and Pelicans.

Sacramento Kings

  • Hired: Luke Walton (story)
  • Replaced: Dave Joerger (story)
  • Contract details: Four-year deal (link)

No team moved faster to name a new head coach than the Kings, who had a deal in place with Walton just two days after firing Joerger. While there were rumors that Sacramento would consider Monty Williams and Ettore Messina, the team settled quickly on Walton, who was originally hired in Los Angeles to coach a young Lakers squad that didn’t feature LeBron James. He’ll get another opportunity to coach an up-and-coming roster in Sacramento.

The fact that the Kings moved so quickly on Walton meant that by the time sexual assault allegations against him surfaced later in April, he was already under contract with his new team. There has been no indication that Sacramento is reconsidering its commitment to Walton, who has vehemently denied those allegations.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Rules Related To NBA Offseason Roster Limits

July 30th, 2019 at 12:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Although NBA teams are limited to 15 players (plus a pair of two-way players) during the regular season, each club can carry up to 20 players during the offseason. Teams don’t have to cut down their rosters from 20 until the day before the regular season.

Players on two-way contracts count toward the 20-man offseason limit, so a club can’t sign 20 players to standard NBA contracts, then add another two more on two-way deals. If a team has filled both of its two-way contract slots, it’s limited to 18 players on standard contracts.

The most common approach for a team building its offseason roster is to carry about 14 players on guaranteed contracts with one or two more on two-way deals and then about three to five on training camp contracts.

This is the route the Lakers are currently taking, for instance. Los Angeles has 14 players on guaranteed deals, Kostas Antetokounmpo and Zach Norvell Jr. on two-way contracts, and three more players – Aric Holman, Jordan Caroline, and Devontae Cacok – on training camp deals, leaving one spot open on the club’s 20-man offseason roster.

A team can also carry more than 15 guaranteed salaries at this point if it wants to. Based on reported contract data, I don’t believe any team is currently carrying more than 15 players on fully guaranteed deals, but the Grizzlies have 15 players with full guarantees and two more with partial guarantees. Before the regular season begins, Memphis will have to either trade or waive at least two of those players, though there’s no rush to do so right away.

Teams with G League affiliates are more likely to use up all 20 of their offseason roster slots than teams without them. The Lakers may end up designating players like Holman, Caroline, and Cacok as affiliate players, sending them to the South Bay Lakers and awarding them an Exhibit 10 bonus if they stick with L.A.’s NBAGL squad. A team like the Nuggets, without a G League affiliate, can’t offer that same bonus.

Once a few more deals around the NBA are officially completed, we’ll be posting our list of roster counts for all 30 teams, which we’ll keep up to date throughout the offseason and the 2019/20 season. Until then, you can read more about NBA roster limits in our glossary entry on the subject.

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Community Shootaround: Tampering Solutions

July 29th, 2019 at 6:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Not too long ago, NBA executives used to wait until the stroke of midnight when free agency began, then knock on the door of their top target.

The NBA has moved the start of free agency to a more reasonable hour, but clearly, they didn’t wait for the official start of free agency to negotiate. Commitments were being leaked to the media this summer even before free agency began.

Nearly a week into free agency, another type of potential tampering issue arose. Kawhi Leonard committed to the Clippers but only after he convinced Paul George, who just signed a long-term deal with the Thunder last offseason, to demand a trade and join him there.

Clearly, the league has a problem with back-room deals and wink-wink agreements. Last week, an ESPN report revealed that tampering — particularly before the free agency period was supposed to begin — was the primary topic at a tense owners meeting.

The NBA has launched an investigation and has penalties in place for tampering violations. However, it’s been 20 years since the league voided a contract after determining its free agency rules were circumvented.

Some ideas have been kicked around to try to keep things under control in the future. One proposal is to move free agency before the draft and allow negotiations to begin with free agents after their seasons are over. The league could also crack down on players trying to recruit free agents prematurely, or in the case of Leonard-George, recruiting players under contract to force trades.

This brings us to our question of the day: What can and should the league do about apparent widespread tampering, particularly before free agency?

Please take to the comments section to address this subject. We look forward to your input.

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